What on earth had happened over the past year?
Truth is, I’m actually acquainted with Man U. It’s my first time facing them wearing a Manchester City kit, but that’s because I’d played against them in a preseason match last year when I was still at Fiorentina.
The memory of that day was still vivid. It had to be, because that match was the first overseas away game of my entire life. It was the first time I’d ever played a match against a non-Italian team, and I remembered worrying about this and that while also looking forward to it.
Manchester United. A team anyone and everyone has heard of at least once, a team so famous there isn’t a soul who doesn’t know them. I’d looked forward to it so much, wondering just how good the players on such a team would be, thinking I’d finally get to see what a real genius looked like.
Of course, back then, my expectations hadn’t quite been fulfilled. I hadn’t gotten that feeling of, *Ah, so this is the level of a Big Six side in the world’s number one league; so this is what geniuses playing for such a team are like.*
But still, we had lost that match. It was preseason, so the players weren’t quite in peak condition, which probably meant they didn’t live up to expectations. Even so, I could definitely tell they were a strong team. Thanks to that, I was able to feel the urgency to prepare diligently for the Champions League too.
But today… I just kept thinking, *Was this all there was to them?* Well, being derby rivals doesn’t necessarily mean the two sides have to be evenly matched. But to the point where I questioned whether we could even call this a “rivalry,” Manchester United was doing absolutely nothing against us.
Thwack-!
Thwack-!
Before I knew it, the match had passed the 75th minute. Our defenders were leisurely passing the ball around near the halfway line.
The scoreboard read 2–0. If you only looked at the flow of play, you’d think the opponent had 2 and we had 0, but in reality it was the opposite. We were the ones leading 2–0.
Yet the opposition was dropping back as if they were the ones winning, just waiting for us to come forward. They’d been like that from the start, but it was strange that even while trailing by two goals, they showed no intention of countering aggressively.
Besides, at this point we didn’t even need to aim for their goal and could just coast until time was up. Yet we were eyeing the opponent’s goal like hawks, as if settling for 2–0 would somehow wound our pride. I started to wonder if this was actually a derby, or just a match against some mid-to-lower-table team.
What on earth had happened in the past year? Had the opponent changed, or had I changed? Or was it simply the difference in teammates?
Thwack-!
I received the ball around the right half-space and turned. Since I was positioned higher than the halfway line, there was some pressure, but it was individual pressure rather than an organized press. Pressure only becomes frightening when everyone converges like a tightening net; movement by isolated individuals can’t be threatening. If anything, it only exposes empty space.
Thwack-!
I exchanged one-twos with De Bruyne in the center, shaking off the pressure, then invaded the space my marker had vacated to step up to me.
Of course, two lines of defense were waiting behind that. But there were plenty of teammates around too. One characteristic of the football the manager pursues is that he holds nothing back. When we attack, everyone becomes an attacker, to the point where even the defenders aren’t afraid to penetrate the box.
During training, we never do even simple shooting drills by ourselves. We train to take our shots only after exchanging at least two passes beforehand.
That style of training must exist for moments like this. Understanding and repetition. Accumulate enough of that, and it becomes ingrained in your body, becomes habit.
Habit isn’t something conscious. It flows out unconsciously, naturally.
Thwack-!
Thwack-!
Habitually, we exchanged short one-two passes flowing like water, breaking through the two defensive lines. With teammates dotted between the defenders like scattered beads, the passing options were plentiful. Thanks to that, the opponent couldn’t cut out our passes despite having the numbers.
Looking at it like this, football could seem so easy. If the opponent has many defenders, it looks like we just need to commit more attackers to overwhelm them.
But this was all done while accepting risk. Committing many players to attack meant fewer defenders to guard the back, meaning one counterattack could easily crumble us. In extreme terms, it was all or nothing.
That was why the most important thing was advancing without losing the ball. But that was easier said than done. Even circulating the ball from the back was difficult, so penetrating the opponent’s core without losing possession was extremely hard.
That was why other teams couldn’t easily play football like ours. This was something only we could do. Only when all eleven players on the pitch were world-class, only when there was mutual trust that no one would lose the ball to each other, was it possible.
Thwack-!
Tat-tat-tat!
After playing the third return pass, I penetrated forward as expected. After three consecutive passes, the two defensive lines that had been blocking my path were now chasing at my heels.
Pass and move is a basic movement. It isn’t necessarily a demand for the ball back. You move simply because passing and moving can drag defenders out and create space.
Thwack-!
Still, the fact that the pass came to me gave me quite a bit of confidence. It meant that the space and speed at which I was penetrating, that choice, looked appropriate to my teammates as well. Just as I trusted my teammates, it was proof that they trusted me too. They passed to me because they believed I wouldn’t lose the ball.
My father had told me something like that once. It was probably after we’d lost to Man City in the Champions League knockout stage back when I was playing for Fiorentina. Back then, Dad had comforted me, saying that being able to face the best already made me one of the best.
I thought it was similar now. Having world-class teammates believe in me—wasn’t that reason enough to be confident?
Of course, it might not be enough. But reasoned confidence alone couldn’t pluck the stars from the sky. You needed groundless confidence on top of it, too.
Because chasing the impossible was something no one with a common-sense mindset could attempt in the first place.
Since when did I ever do something because it looked possible?
Tat!
Inside the box. Instead of trapping the ball coming from behind, I let it run and adjusted my stride. Then, after glancing to check the goalkeeper’s position and setting my shooting angle, I focused on the ball.
Then I traced over the sketch I’d already drawn in my mind.
Boooom-!
Swoooosh—
Thwack-!
The right-footed shot struck from the right side of the box lodged into the upper right corner of the goal. And just as before, the stadium fell silent in an instant.
Maybe it was because I’d always preferred quiet to noise. I quite liked this silence.
...
Premier League, Matchweek 9
Manchester United 0 : 3 Manchester City
-8' Phil Foden (a. Ijian)
-25' Erling Haaland (a. Kevin De Bruyne)
-72' Ijian (a. Phil Foden)
...
—France Football announces the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner... The winner is Lionel Messi.
—This year's Ballon d'Or was predictable, but next year's is expected to be an unprecedentedly fierce competition.
—'Next Emperor' Mbappé scores multiple goals against OGC Nice in Ligue 1 Round 10... Puts on a one-man show to deliver three points.
—'Man of Records' Jude Bellingham scores multiple goals in La Liga Round 11... Fifth MOTM of the season.
—'Top average rating across the Big Five Leagues' Ijian records 1 goal and 1 assist in Round 11, marking three consecutive matches with goal contributions since the Manchester Derby.
—Harry Kane scores a hat-trick against Dortmund, his third hat-trick in 10 matches since transferring to Munich. An insane scoring pace...
—Will it be the most interesting race in history? Next year's Ballon d'Or, a preview of a five-way battle
...The competition is already heating up. The player touted as one for the future is making that future the present. The youngsters who had been evaluated as prospects surpassed that stage long ago. There is also a striker who moved from the team he'd been with for ages to prove his class. And of course, the monstrous striker who shocked the world last season is continuing his scoring streak.
1. Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
-6 matches, 9 goals, 2 assists
-Rumors about a summer transfer never ceased, but his performance on the pitch is still developing.
-His future performances are expected to be even more explosive.
2. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
-10 matches, 10 goals, 2 assists
-La Liga average rating leader, 2nd in the Big Five Leagues
-Internally and externally, his talent is being praised as something that will surpass Zinedine Zidane in the future.
3. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
-12 matches, 17 goals, 5 assists
-England’s captain striker is showing that he needs no period to adapt to the league.
-The record of 17 goals in 12 matches is the first in 55 years since Gerd Müller.
4. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
-10 matches, 11 goals, 1 assist
-Concerns had been raised that he'd missed more big chances compared to last season, but the fact that he still leads the Premier League scoring charts proves his class.
5. Ijian (Manchester City)
-7 matches, 6 goals, 4 assists
-Average rating of 8.54 over 6 matches including the Champions League, 1st across the Big Five Leagues
-Had been met with concerns about adapting to a new league and questions about his expensive transfer fee, but he's silencing all doubts with even greater performances since the move.
Of course, with so many other players also putting in top-tier performances, predictions that this season will be a historic Ballon d'Or race are already heating up...
...
Honestly, it was scary. I wasn't quite sure how to explain it, but I had that sort of feeling. Like I'd just been putting one foot in front of the other without looking around, then turned back one moment and realized I'd climbed incredibly high.
In other words, the reason the path I'd walked had felt so strangely hard was because it had all been uphill. I'd simply been moving forward with the thought of getting past the obstacles right before my eyes. Before I knew it, the path before me was a steep cliff, and since I'd never imagined I'd make it this far, I hadn't packed a parachute or anything. The thought of falling from here made my heart keep constricting.
"If you were to win the Ballon d'Or, you'd become the first Premier League Ballon d'Or winner in 15 years. It would be a tremendous honor; don't you personally feel quite ambitious about it?"
Today was supposed to be a day with an ordinary training schedule, but for some reason I was sitting in front of cameras and microphones. It was for an interview with an online channel run by our team.
The reporter passed the mic, and Haaland, sitting beside me, answered.
"Well. I only have the ambition to become a better player. But I suppose that might be what that means. If I keep developing, perhaps that day will come eventually."
As he appeared on the outside, Haaland was a player with tremendous confidence. His physique, the sharpness of his left foot, his scoring instinct inside the box—there was no shortage of things I wanted to learn from him, but above all I wanted to learn the confidence of believing in himself.
That confidence seemed to seep through in his answer, and then the mic was passed to me.
"What about you?"
Well. I couldn't imitate Haaland. But even someone like me must have one thing he was better at than Haaland. Pretending he had it even when he didn't, I suppose. It was one of my few specialties.
"Honestly, I don't think it matters much who wins it. Since I think it'll go to someone from our team anyway."
"Why is that?"
"...Mhm. Isn't it only natural for the best player to come from the best team?"
"That's a wonderful thing to say."
The reporter nodded in admiration, but to me, who knew the truth, it was just a funny scene. The questions and answers had been rehearsed before the cameras started rolling.
Fans needed a star they could look up to. Somehow, I'd ended up in a situation where I had to become that star. I'd been signed for an astronomical fee, so the team probably needed me to be that in order to avoid criticism.
That was probably why, as now, they were stoking talk of the Ballon d'Or when it was still a year away.
"The fans' expectations are immense. Of course they want trophies as a team, but they also want a player from our team to stand tall as the very best individual. I'd like to hear both players' firm resolve on this."
But as people who lived off the fans' support, we had a duty to always live as the fans wanted us to. Because if there were no fans, the ball we kicked would have no meaning at all.
"I'll score more goals than last season, and more important goals. Becoming the world's best striker has always been my goal."
Haaland's answer was filled with sincerity. Then came my own smoothly delivered answer, every bit the professional's.
"Whatever the fans want, I'll bring it to the Etihad Stadium."
If there was no one to cheer for me, I was nothing. Therefore, if they told me to pluck a star from the sky, even if it was impossible, I had a duty to at least pretend to reach for it.
So I simply accepted that duty.